


Children of Honor

by Elo_Awry



Series: Polymer Children [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Androids Have Genitalia (Detroit: Become Human), Background HankCon - Freeform, Fertility Issues, Gen, Implied Mpreg, Side Story, children of men au, or rather the implication of mpreg but not necessarily for Markus, social unrest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22042414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elo_Awry/pseuds/Elo_Awry
Summary: He was built with a purpose, by people who supposedly knew better. But what if they were wrong? Was a partnership with Leo Manfred really beneficial to society? Could he trust himself to make his own decisions on the matter?[Prequel/side-story to Children of Men]
Relationships: Carl Manfred & Markus
Series: Polymer Children [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1547593
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Children of Honor

**Author's Note:**

> I'm taking a break from the main series right now for post-holiday recovery lol, but I finished this chapter weeks ago so I figured I'd toss it up here before the new year. Will probably be 3 chapters, spread over the length of "Children of Men", taking place concurrently with the other androids' stories.

“Good morning, Markus,” was the first thing ever spoken to him. He wasn’t in the physical world at the time, though it was hard to differentiate, as he’d never yet experienced it. It was spoken to him by a woman, standing in a rose garden. Quietly she pushed a data packet at him, and he accepted it, reading through her information and adding it to all the data he’d assimilated before appearing in the garden. Her name was Amanda. She was the project’s manager.    
  
“Good morning, Amanda,” he replied. The sound of his voice didn’t surprise him, but he took note of it. It was the first time he was hearing it. He lifted his hand to look at it; this was the first time he was seeing that as well. Even though he knew what he looked like, somehow, filed away in the back of his brain, it was different to see it— even in a digital world.    
  
Amanda gave him what was clearly intended to be a smile. As Markus understood it, smiles were supposed to invoke a feeling of happiness, particularly when given by someone you trusted, but this smile fell a bit short. He thought maybe it was just because androids were not able to feel happiness. He accepted that as truth, for the time being.    
  
“Tell me, do you understand your task?” she asked him, staring, blinking once every eight seconds.    
  
“I do,” he responded. It was the very first thing he had become aware of, even before he became aware of himself. The data was marked as an extreme priority, to be read and learned before anything else in his memory bank. “I’m to conceive a child with my assigned partner and carry it until it is ready to be born.”    
  
Nodding, Amanda then asked, “And do you understand  _ why _ this is your task?”    
  
“To help the human race,” Markus replied.    
  
“Good,” Amanda said, seeming pleased but still not conveying a sense of happiness. “Now wake up, and receive your assignment from the technicians.”    
  
And so Markus did. Gone was the rose garden, which he only now realized was beautiful. He found himself in a sterile white room, surrounded by workers in white and black uniforms. They checked him over, from head to toe, asking him to move various parts of his body until they were sure that everything worked as it was supposed to. They moved around him like a swarm, unplugging thick cords and wires from his body, helping him dress, typing furiously on data tablets. Then one stood in front of him as the others bustled off to do something else, somewhere else. She didn’t look like Amanda, nor did she look like Markus. According to a quick search through his data banks, she looked similar to a number of people he had not yet met, other humans out in the world.    
  
“You’re all ready to go,” she said, and the smile she gave him  _ did _ evoke a sense of happiness. Markus liked seeing it. He wondered if this meant something was wrong, but the woman seemed to think he was in good working order, and he didn’t want to possibly prove her wrong by bringing up a potential malfunction, so he didn’t. “I’ve uploaded the address and details of your assignment. Good luck!”    
  
She set an arm on his shoulder and guided him out the door, into a sterile white hallway. She didn’t go any further with him, apparently expecting that he would make the journey on his own. So he accessed the data she’d uploaded to him, which included the schematics of the building they were currently in, and instructions for hailing a taxi cab that would take him to the home of Carl Manfred.    
  
He sat in the silent vehicle as it rolled down one street and then another towards its destination, and he watched out the window as he re-read his orders.    
  
His name was Markus. He was an android created by CyberLife and commissioned by the Federal Fertility Services Center. His job was to go to the assigned location and engage in a sexual relationship with his partner, Leo Manfred. Then, he would conceive a child and carry it until it was time for delivery. After a successful birth, he would repeat the process, in an attempt to bolster the human population in a way that humans were apparently losing the ability to do. His partner was chosen due to his exceptional fertility— or at least he was  _ supposed _ to have been. According to Leo’s file, the young man was somewhat fertile, but not exceptionally so. This was a bit puzzling, but Markus supposed it didn’t change his directive much.    
  
When he arrived at the location, he found it to be a rather large house. Like the rose garden, he thought it was beautiful. From the outside, it appeared ornate and carefully constructed; clean, but not clean like the inside of the laboratory had been.    
  
He rang the doorbell and waited. Just over a minute later, the door opened to an elderly man in a wheelchair. This was Carl Manfred, according to his data— his partner Leo’s father. This was the man who owned the house. Leo did not have a consistent residence, so Markus was expected to take further direction pertaining to Leo from Carl, until Leo was located.    
  
“Can I help you?” Carl asked, his face kept carefully neutral. Markus got the impression that the man didn’t care much for strangers, particularly not those who showed up at his house unannounced.    
  
“My name is Markus,” he said. “I’m an android created by CyberLife. I was sent here to find your son, Leo. I am intended to be his partner in a project commissioned by the FSC.”    
  
Recognition dawned on Carl’s wrinkled face, a subtle expression. “Ah. You. Right, ok, come on in then.” He turned around and wheeled into the foyer, leaving room for Markus to follow behind him. The door closed behind him of its own accord, leaving them in a room with a high ceiling, which surpassed the exterior of the building in terms of beauty.    
  
“Your house is very beautiful,” Markus mentioned, as he followed Carl into the living room, which was similarly as lovely. Each detail in the house seemed carefully chosen to draw the eye.    
  
“Hm, thanks,” Carl said, smirking. He settled near a low coffee table and gestured for Markus to sit on a nearby couch. “Figured I have to look at it every day, so it might as well be pretty. Or interesting, at least.”    
  
It certainly was interesting. There was a statue of a giraffe in one corner. Based on Markus’ limited knowledge of interior design, he did not think that was usual. 

"So," Carl began before Markus had a chance to come up with a response. "You want to have a kid with my kid." 

"Androids aren't designed to want," Markus explained. "So, no, I don't strictly want that." 

Rather than being offended or anything, Carl laughed. "Yeah, I dunno that anyone would. Leo isn't always the easiest to get along with. Do you know  _ why _ they sent you to partner with him of all people?" 

Honestly, Markus had wondered. Leo was not among the most fertile available partners. There had to be something else special about him for the FSC to choose him over the hundred other Detroit citizens that ranked as more fertile than him. "I'm sorry, I don't," Markus admitted. 

Carl huffed. "I thought as much. Well  _ I _ know why. Someone in the government wants to get on my good side and thinks they can bribe me by giving my son a pretty little gift he doesn't deserve. And make no mistake, he doesn't deserve you." 

Markus genuinely didn't know how to respond to that. It was surprising to him to hear that his partner's father had such a low opinion of him. "I…" he said, frowning. "I don't know that it's a matter of what he deserves. CyberLife created me to solve the problem of low human birth rates. It's not required that every participant be  _ deserving _ of anything." 

"Well," Carl said, giving Markus rather a condescending look. "If it's all about results, why Leo? Why not someone who would actually be a good father? Your bosses know that Leo is an addict, right? He couldn't be a good father if he wanted to, and I guarantee he doesn't." 

"Would you be better?" Markus asked, and he didn't mean for his tone to sound challenging, but it was. 

Carl shook his head. "Don't look at me. Better, yes, but I wouldn't be good. Leo proves that. I didn't want to be a father the first time, and I don't need a second chance at it." 

Markus frowned and blinked down at his knees. Carl's assessment of both himself and his son left Markus in sort of a bind. His objective was to bear the child of Leo Manfred. If that didn't work out for some reason, he still had to bear  _ a _ child. That was what he was created for. If  _ Carl _ Manfred didn't want him either, he would have to go back to CyberLife for reassignment. He didn't like the idea of failing so quickly. 

Before Markus could say anything, Carl sighed, as if he somewhat regretted his words. "Look, I can't make this decision for you. I'll try to get Leo to come by so you can meet him yourself, then you can figure out if you think letting him be a dad is a good idea. Until then, why don't you just make yourself at home." 

It wasn't a question, which made it easier to deal with. Markus nodded, said, "thank you," and set his next task to 'wait to be introduced to Leo Manfred'. 

The look Carl gave him then was distinctly uncomfortable. "You said you're an android, right? I don't know what you need." 

"I don't really need anything," Markus answered. If he understood his own workings correctly, he didn't require anything in the way of survival, save shelter from any particularly dangerous elements. "I can wait here, or wherever you like." 

Carl hummed. "Seems like a waste. Do you know how to play chess?" 

Markus shook his head. "No. But I'm sure I can learn." 

"Right," Carl said with a grin. "Then come entertain an old man for a while."

x 

Carl promised he'd try to call Leo after Markus beat him at chess three times, which made it sound like it was supposed to be a challenge. But he didn't act surprised when Markus bested him three times in under an hour, despite never having played before. Markus was left suspicious at the deceptively easy victory. 

"Chess was one of the first things a computer learned to do," Carl said, explaining his lack of surprise. "If you couldn't play at least as good as Deep Blue, your programmers would have considered you a failure." 

"If you knew I would beat you, why did you propose such a game?" Markus asked, his brow furrowing. 

"I didn't know," Carl said, shrugging. "I was testing a hypothesis. The email I got about you hardly told me the first thing about what you really are. I could only assume you were hyper intelligent, just because I don’t know what the point would be to make a robot that wasn’t  _ at least _ as smart as a man. Technology’s come too far for our creations not to be better than us.”    
  
Markus smiled faintly; he thought Carl’s comment sounded like a compliment. “I don’t think I was intended to be better than humans, only to fill in where needed.”    
  
With a well-practiced roll of his eyes, Carl said, “Need is relative.” But he didn’t argue Markus’ existence or goals any further, and agreed to call his son.    
  
Of course, Markus should have expected, based on his suspicions (which Carl’s disarming comment had almost made him forget), that Carl deigning to contact Leo would not suddenly advance his goals. He made the call, as he promised, but Leo did not pick up the phone, and there was a problem with his voice mail box so Carl couldn’t even leave a message to ask him to come by.    
  
“Could you send him a text message?”    
  
“Sure,” Carl said, typing out a simple sentence to send. “I don’t know if he’ll get it though. He goes days without looking at his phone sometimes.”    
  
From Markus’ seat he could see the message Carl had sent.  _ [Leo, please call me as soon as you can.]  _ It wasn’t very explanatory of the situation, and probably not what Markus would have sent himself. Carl obviously noticed Markus’ critical gaze.    
  
“This isn’t the kind of thing you should hear about by text,” he said. “And I’m not convinced it should be the first thing he hears from you at all. If you introduce yourself like you did to me, I’m afraid he’ll be inclined to take advantage of you.”    
  
Markus raised an eyebrow at the old man, wondering if he quite understood what the program was about. “I think that’s the point.”    
  
Carl shook his head almost sadly. “You don’t know humans yet. Believe me, you won’t like your life if you allow people to walk all over you because you think that’s what you or they deserve. You have some sort of goal, right?”    
  
Yes,” Markus said, his eyes narrowing as he tried to predict what Carl was trying to get at. “I do.”    
  
“Then you can’t let people just take what they want from you,” Carl told him, his eyes sharp and hard. “Because it may not be what you want to give.”    
  
Markus’ mouth fell open slightly as he intended to respond, but he couldn’t think of anything to say to that, and he became lost in the twisting pathways of his thoughts. It… hadn’t really occurred to him that his partner might want something from him that he didn’t want to give, partly because he hadn’t considered that he  _ had _ anything that wasn’t  _ designed _ to be given. Now that he thought about it though… he had enough knowledge of people from the internet that he could imagine a few scenes. Hispartner might accept him but then never use him at all, or only ever use him in a way that didn’t allow him to complete his task. If Leo was a drug addict, as his father said, he might try to sell Markus. He might take him apart, piece by piece, disregarding his intended function.    
  
“I… see,” he said uneasily, which at least caused Carl to smirk knowingly. “So you think I should refrain from telling him the truth about my origin?”    
  
“I think that’d be best,” Carl said.    
  
Slowly, Markus nodded in agreement. “Alright. You probably know your son better than anyone.”    
  
Carl gave the space beside Markus’ head a rueful smile. “Sadly, that’s probably not true. But I know him well enough to see the parts of him he probably doesn’t realize came from me, not least of which is his sense of youthful arrogance. Just… believe me, when I say you need to take it slow with him.”    
  
“Then I will,” Markus said, and with that the current task was temporarily delayed, making room for new tasks. “Would you like to play another match?”    
  
Laughing, Carl said, “As fun as it is to get my ass handed to me, I think I’ve had enough for today.” He glanced further down the room, past the piano and the giraffe. “How do you feel about art?”    
  
“I’m not sure,” Markus answered honestly. “I haven’t had a reason or a chance to experience it yet.”    
  
Carl seemed to like that answer. He wheeled himself away from the chessboard and off toward the other side of the room, nodding over his shoulder for Markus to follow. “Well then, let’s go find out.”    
  



End file.
